Category Archives: Food for thought

The greatest thing about being a writer is the ability to do anything (within a certain amount of reason) in your books.

I have heard this question more often than you could imagine, “Do you think I could have (insert situation/action/myth/occurrence here) happen?” My answer is always yes. YES, YES, and more YES!

There are of course certain guidelines for such a yes, BUT if you are a crafty writer and your world allows for it then absolutely YES.

Let’s take for a moment one of the most popular of writers that he has become a household name, Stephen King. Pick up any of his books, at random. The plausibility of Carrie for example. Does shit like that really happen? No. Young women do not sudden have psychic powers and go ape-shit on their classmates. The key to pulling off such a thing is the world building. We see Carrie’s power slowly grow until she loses her shit. This is the slow burn. A building up of things until we believe by the end of the book she could do everything she does.

There’s a different way to do things as well, establish at the beginning of the story that things are just not the way you might expect them to be. Douglas Adams for example. If you haven’t read his stuff, its a fun romp in complete improbably, in fact, that’s the whole concept of his Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books.

Even if you don’t like either of the aforementioned authors styles, you can probably see the skill at which they tell stories. They are in different tones of course, but you could easily switch the fun read of Adams style for the grim suspense tone of King and do the same thing.

If Carrie was in fact a lighter story, her powers would have manifested in more fun and amusing ways. And if Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was more suspenseful and grim that improbability drive would have done some seriously messed up shit.

So, I give you the answer to your question. Yes. If you build your world properly, you can make anything work. Have fun with writing. Enjoy the freedom it gives you, invent stories and circumstances that interest you and don’t limit yourself because you think a concept sounds stupid. It only sounds stupid if you haven’t made it work. If you haven’t built the framework properly. I don’t claim to be any sort of expert, but I do read, and I have seen some bizarre things work. So whether you go with the slow burn or the immediate slap in the face, have fun with your stories and write something you’ll enjoy reading.

Good morning and its nice to finally be able to say that. I’ve been having some problems getting over the loss of the election. I’m not here to whine or rage against the President-elect. My very liberal self is putting her mind to other things. I’m here to make peace, so bear with me.

As I watched the election unfold, the sense of dread I’d been feeling only grew. I had friends that were saying, there’s no way he’ll win. But I still had that fear that he would. And of course he did.

I watched in horror and utter grief the American people voted for anger instead of love. But I understand. I understand that people thought they were being ignored. I understand that they were lashing out against the establishment, I understand that they thought such a man would ‘shake things up’. What I don’t understand is the hate, and because of that I grieved and still do.

Just days after the election we are seeing the result of that hate being played out by those who think they’ve been given a free pass. Women, People of Color, Immigrants, various non-christian Religions, the Disabled, and the LGBTQ community are all suffering.

I have to say, I loved America.

I say that in the past tense because I’m uncertain of its future. I was proud of the fact that we have the rights that we do. But I’m wondering how long we’ll keep those rights. And while there is nothing a President can do to take away those rights, there are things he can do to make those rights extremely difficult to keep.

But as I said, I’m here to make peace with the part of America that I clearly don’t belong in.

I don’t hate you because you voted for our president-elect. — But I no longer trust you.

I don’t hate you because you voted for hate and anger. — But my faith in you is shattered.

I don’t hate you because you felt the need to side with such a man. — But you have made me fear like I have not felt before.

I don’t hate you.

I have to think you were all just too angry have any room in your heart for people other than yourself. Because if I don’t have that little bit of hope, I couldn’t get up in the morning.

So, now that you’ve made the bed in which we will have to lay in for the next four years. I am asking you to get over the anger that you felt when you elected this man, and help your friends and neighbors fight the problems you have now forced them to face.

You did this. You have to help us fix it. Please.

America was founded on religious freedoms.

America was founded as a place to be free of tyranny.

America was founded by immigrants.

All men (general not masculine) are created equal. Please remember that. And in return I will remember not to hate and maybe together we can keep from breaking the America I loved, and I can change that past tense into present and future.

With the release week winding down for The Alpha’s Weave, I think I can safely announce Book 2 of the series. Due to be released January 3rd, I hope you can wait a few months to see what happens next with Dante and our pack.

Cutting Ties takes place about 6 months after the Caster problem. Things have mellowed for the pack and grown more stable but dangers that seemed distant and perhaps less significant are now at the head of things. We learn more about August and his Mistress and the interesting things they have planned and also how the mysterious Odin plays into thing.

Also, River grows up, Lazarus become a thing, Nicky’s still not a heavy, Dante forgets to call home and one cub becomes a youth. 😀 Hope that’s teaser enough for you.

BLURB:

War is looming, and as the alpha, it falls to Dante to protect his shifter pack from the hybrid creatures spawned to prey upon them. To that end he joins forces with the Nephilim Odin in the hopes of keeping both their people safe, though past slights and animosity between the clans continue to cause strain. Attacks on the packs and Nephilim clans increase, and the seemingly endless army of hybrids will not stop growing. Dante knows their only chance to put an end to the carnage is to find the nest where his twin August and August’s mistress are creating the hybrids.

With entire cities being destroyed, Dante must call upon the pack weave to find the people who have been captured—and the nest. Dante and Odin gather an army for an all-out attack. Though a desperate and risky move, Dante has been backed into a corner and he sees no other alternative. It’s a battle they must win at any price, because the cost of losing will be catastrophic.

COVER

Isn’t that just a lovely cover? Praises to Anne Caine for pulling off the feel of the book. I really do love this. She did a fantastic job.

It’s Release day!! These days always give me the most trepidation. I could write a million books and release day is always something I look forward to with a mixed bag of nerves.

Questions start floating around in my head. Will the reviewers like my book? Will the readers? Will they hate it? Will I be able to pull off an even better book two? What if they all hate it, should I have even written the next book? Yeah, I’m insecure but hell, I put a lot of work into one project and now I get to see what will happen next. It’s a nerve-wracking sort of fear. The fear of the unknown.

The Alpha’s Weave is a book about a young man becoming an alpha to his pack. He’s got a lot of growing to do since he has a few books to see his way through. He’s got to protect his pack, he’s got to become an alpha and in the process, try and save everyone he loves from more than one threat floating around out there. Dante has his own set of fears, but many of them are known, and to be honest, that might be more frightening than the unknown in this case.

I hope you enjoy this book and the others soon to come. They are action packed and filled with blood and violence. If you like that sort of stuff, jump into my world with me and help me celebrate my Release Day.

The Alpha’s Weave | Pack Born Series Book One

By C.M. Torrens

Blurb:

After years of abuse in his old shifter pack, Dante found a new life with Alpha Victor. He would do anything for Victor. Anything but stay away from Jesse, the half-blood stray. But when Victor names Dante his heir, he has no choice but to accept the duties given to him even if it means relinquishing the possibility of love. He owes his life and sanity to Victor, and that’s a debt Dante can never fully repay.

But Dante should have known the good life couldn’t last. His former alpha, Caster, is not a male who lets anything of value slip through his grasp. When rumors fly of Caster’s return, Dante knows the man will stop at nothing to possess him and his talent once again. When Jesse is kidnapped and Victor falls victim to an untimely death, his worst fears are realized. His old alpha has finally returned to reclaim him. Dante must use his fears and nightmares to save Jesse and his pack, even if it means sacrificing himself.

After years of abuse in his old shifter pack, Dante found a new life with Alpha Victor. He would do anything for Victor. Anything but stay away from Jesse, the half-blood stray. But when Victor names Dante his heir, he has no choice but to accept the duties given to him even if it means relinquishing the possibility of love. He owes his life and sanity to Victor, and that’s a debt Dante can never fully repay.

But Dante should have known the good life couldn’t last. His former alpha, Caster, is not a male who lets anything of value slip through his grasp. When rumors fly of Caster’s return, Dante knows the man will stop at nothing to possess him and his talent once again. When Jesse is kidnapped and Victor falls victim to an untimely death, his worst fears are realized. His old alpha has finally returned to reclaim him. Dante must use his fears and nightmares to save Jesse and his pack, even if it means sacrificing himself.

It’s been fun writing these. I hope you all like them as much as I enjoyed writing them. If you like shifters, action, characters with too much on their plates and a lot of death, check these out. I think you’ll like them.

So a bit of a squee! Book 2, Cutting Ties, Pack Born series that’s to start coming out at the end of this year is officially in production. The ink is dry and life is good. Hope everyone enjoys these books as much as I’m enjoying writing them. Dante is one of my favorite characters. He’s grown so much since book 1.

Shhh, no spoilers but things are about to get serious, as if they weren’t before. I can promise lots of death, lots of chaos and a lot more about the hybrids, August and the mysterious Mistress.

I love that phrase. I know its a dated phrase, but I love it just the same.

I’m a mellow person. I try not to let little things stress me down. Its the big things that can crush me. RL crushed us two years ago. It still gives us fits from time to time. The timing was horrible too (not that any timing would have been good). I was just starting to get my feet wet with my writing career. Things were starting to look like maybe I could do this writing thing; when hubby was suddenly in an accident. When your old man is suddenly unable to walk around the house and monthly income drops to about 20% of what we were used to, yeah some things just have to be put on hold.

Things are much better now. He’s not where he was before the accident and probably never will be, but we’re good and stable and things are back to a relative normal.

That was two years and some change ago. The last part of 2015 was all about getting back on the writing horse. And I did. I sold. woohoo that got my confidence back up, so I can officially say, I am back, baby! And I’m here to stay. So long as life doesn’t harsh my mellow again, I’ll be typing away until my little fingers are nubs and begging people to buy these things I call manuscripts.

So, dearest 2016, you better not f#cking harsh my mellow. I’m in a good f#cking place right now and if you f#ck with me, you will see the wrath of woman like you have never seen before.

Oh! Yes. If you thought that when I said I was a mellow person that I meant, June Clever on Prozac, hahahahahah! No. I raised two kids in today’s world, honey. Wrath of God ain’t got shit on me. Happy New Year!